Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood
This is the twelfth book in Ms. Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series. I have to say, I probably would not have picked up the series had one of my housemates not given the first book to the other. But having found them, I want to share them with everyone I know who would enjoy them -- which is not to say I want to share them with everyone I know. I know a few people who would not enjoy this series. My housemate feels the same way, and in fact, we share the very copies of the books we read with her father. We buy them in Australia, where they are more readily available, read them (it’s a family joke that we must be careful not to read the words off), and then forward them on to her father for his enjoyment. This book is one of four that we need to finish before an upcoming trip with her father. If we finish them all before the trip ends, we can leave the books with him rather than having to mail them to him -- a win/win for everyone.
But back to Murder in Montparnasse. This was the best of the Phryne adventures to date in my opinion. The mystery itself was easy to figure out, and I had the murderer pegged as soon as he was introduced as a character. The subplot took a bit more figuring out, especially with some the author’s descriptions at the ends of some of the chapters and a few red herrings. It was not the mystery plots that made this the best adventure. It was the back-story and flashbacks to Phryne’s life in post-War Paris. I usually have a low tolerance for name dropping, and the flashback remembrances were full of name dropping, but in this case it was not as overt and in-you-face as that kind of thing can be.
Americans (and their bears) are taught very little about World War I if only because the US education system has deemed, by and large, things in which the US was not involved are not worthy of discussion. So any real discussion of World War I had to be done outside of schooling and on one’s own. My housemate’s father was interested in World War I, and in particular the Gallipoli Campaign, so we probably came through knowing more than the average person by dint of being exposed to it. But still, our education is sorely lacking for that period in history.
I am not saying that fictional mystery novels are the best places to go for historical information, but they are not bad for setting the scene and encouraging more in-depth research and investigation. One could do worse than Phryne Fisher for historical context. But this adventure was not only about the historical context, but a good deal about the character of Phryne herself. We are all products of our times, our upbringings, and our adventures. This book went a good way to explaining why Phryne is who she is. And that was the best part.
Add to that an interesting, but possibly throw-away, discussion about the young no longer heeding the advice of the old because the old “advised them to die,” and it was a book that will have an impact on my long after we pass it on to my housemate’s father.
I always recommend reading series books in order, but this is not one that needs to be read in sequence. It would help to already know the characters, but because so much of the book takes place before the series begins anyway, it is not sensitive to the over-arching plot line. Definitely check out Phryne Fisher mysteries if you can find them. But do not worry if you cannot find other and have to read this one first, or out of order, just read it.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five cups strong Parisian coffee and a plate of brownies (preferably not from Alice B. Toklas’ infamous recipe)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
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